Perilous Behavior
by Addictive Personality
Summary: Sora's affluent family status kept him on a tight leash. With an overbearing lawyer mother and a more than often absentee neurosurgeon father, Sora felt constrained in his every day life. Throw in a new addition to the high school staff in the form of a handsome blonde man named Seifer and things get complicated. A teacher is meant to teach, but schoolwork is not on the agenda.
1. There Were Scattered Materials

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix, or Disney. The characters and places used belong to their respective owners and universes.

**-Perilous Behavior-**

**-Chapter 1-**

**-There Were Scattered Materials-**

Sora threw himself back on the grassy field, eyes closed and feeling the gentle caressing of the early afternoon sun. His shirt lay a bit unbuttoned, the god awful blue and white tie long disposed of. The light was pelting his face, eyes closed and his lips set in a thin, pursed line. Despite having his eyes shut, he could still distinguish a shadow above him.

"Thought I'd find you out here."

The voice was feminine and tinted with amusement. The newly sixteen year old high school student propped himself up on his elbows.

"I thought you had work."

Sixteen year old Tiana plopped herself down besides Sora, her dark skin almost gleaming.

"Mom called and told me things were quiet for right now, so I got the afternoon off."

"Huh," Sora huffed, "lucky you."

"You're in a rather fussy mood," she replied with a smile. "What's up?"

"Could you tell that easily?" he said rolling his eyes around.

"You're not the best at hiding your facial flaws."

He fell back once more, feeling the cool green grass against an exposed patch of skin. Tiana hovered over him, casting a shadow and allowing Sora to open his eyes without the sun blinding him.

"Same old shit."

Tiana nodded slowly. "Mom again?"

He scoffed. "Of course. Mom spent half of last night screaming at me for being late to piano lessons and then 'giving flack to the instructor'."

The story was always the same. It was like there was some kind of natural law stating when children reached the age of sixteen they would turn into despicable little brats. They wouldn't listen to a word their parents had to say, they wouldn't mind their chores and responsibilities and felt as if they could do whatever they pleased, whenever they pleased. Many could get away with this kind of behavior, but not all. For Sora, such an attitude was something that would not be tolerated in his household.

Not a day went by without his mother, Helga, chastising him for something. She could never be happy with anything he did or how presented himself. There was always strict discipline, rules that he needed to follow at all times or risk losing a privilege. That is not to say that he never broke them, come on now, Sora was still a kid. But the consequences were never fun. Even after entering high school and being of an age where he could be a little more independent, there was still a lot he couldn't do. While his friends were out after school or working a part time job, Sora would be home studying. Priorities were never his, they were always his parents'. And while everyone else would be getting their driver's license at sixteen, Sora had barely managed to convince his parents to allow him to study for the initial permit test. Nothing was ever different.

"Cheer up Sora, I know it sucks. Why don't I treat you to coffee or something? I don't have to go in for work, so come on."

Sora waved a hand at her, "Naw, thanks Tiana, but I have to wait to get picked up by mom."

The dark skinned girl let out a small sigh and got up in the process. "Alright Sora, I'll call later then? I'll probably be bugging you over the biology homework Mr. _Nooj_ assigned. God, I'm so over that class."

"Okay, give me a call then. Later."

"Bye", Tiana said and began walking away from the field. Sora looked over at his phone, the time reading past 4 already and his parental unit nowhere in sight. It was infuriating how he was belittled for being late when his own mother couldn't be on time to pick him up. This wasn't the first time and Sora knew it would never be the last. Growing restless Sora got up and buttoned his shirt back up. Off in the distance he could hear the shrill sounds of a whistle. The track team was more than likely still doing laps and with nothing else for him to do, he figured he'd watch them practice.

Sora covered a few fields until the track came into view. About fifteen people were just finishing up a lap with some passed out on the ground. He could see the burly coach with a clipboard in hand directing the last few stragglers. The brunet walked over onto the bleachers and settled down with his back pack off to the side. He rested his feet on the seat in front of him and wrapped both arms around his legs. That's when he felt two hands covering his eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Uh, not really in the mood for this right now."

"Oh come on, you're no fun."

Aqua sat down next to him, offering him a grin. "Checking out the track team?"

"Could say the same to you," Sora replied brushing a stray spike away. "Weren't you helping Mrs. Aurora with grading the freshmen papers?"

"I was, but we finished early. She had to go to some staff meeting, I dunno."

Aqua was a year older than Sora and lived on the eastern side of the island. She, along with Tiana in fact, were attending his private school on scholarship. The majority of the student body were from wealthy families and in an effort to include those from all walks of life, the school offered scholarships to those less fortunate. Aqua and Tiana were by no means poor, but even their higher middle class families wouldn't be able to afford the high tuition the school required. Perhaps it was being from an affluent family that his parents were so strict with him. His mother Helga was a prominent lawyer and his father _Zack_ was a neurosurgeon. It had taken him well into his last year of middle school to realize how truly different he was to others.

"Ah, so that's what it was."

Sora looked over to Aqua, her hand extended and pointing at a group of people across the field. He followed the gesture to see the school principal and a small gathering of other teachers. But one didn't appear familiar.

"What is?" Sora asked with a raised brow.

"The reason Mrs. Aurora let us finish early. Looks like they're showing a new teacher around."

From where they sat they could make out basic features. He stood tall, well over 6 feet, slicked back blonde hair, and maybe bordering into his late twenty's, early thirties. Sora could hear Aqua giggling to herself.

"He's cute."

"You think Mr. Nooj is cute," Sora said teasingly, "you'll find anyone attractive."

"Sorry for having taste," she replied flicking her tongue at him.

"Haha, taste is subjective."

Sora was poking fun at the older girl, but in reality, the blonde man was rather handsome. And considering that the average age of a teacher at his school was forty, the blonde was a rather welcoming addition.

"What subject will he be filling in?" Aqua presented. "Nobody's out on sick leave or quit."

"You're forgetting about Mrs. _Lulu_."

"Oh crap, you're right! She's going on maternity leave."

"So he's going to be filling in for sophomore history."

Aqua craned her neck at Sora, lips twisting into a sly smile. "That's _your _class."

The brunet shrugged at her. "So? I hate history. I don't care."

"Man Sora, you're really no fun today."

She was right, he wasn't being fun. Sora didn't care in the slightest. With the bereavement at his parents' hands, more so his mother, he was in a foul mood and little could do to change it at the moment. He felt his phone vibrate and read over the text.

"She's in the parking lot, I gotta go," he said with a sigh. "I'll catch up later."

Aqua nodded and sent him off with a pat on the back. Sora looked over his shoulder once more to see the teacher's group and the blonde man in the midst. One way or another, he'd be seeing him the following day for history. He walked across the campus grounds until he could see the parking lot. His mother's black Mercedes revved up as he came up to it and threw his belongings into the backseat.

"You're late."

"Don't start," his mother warned, cell phone attached to her ear, "I couldn't get away from the office."

"Whatever," he said slouching back in his seat as she pulled out of the parking spot. "Not like it'd matter."

The entire ride he lay silent as his mother chatted away with someone on the phone. He stared blankly out the window, catching other kids from his school laughing and walking with their friends.

"Yes, yes, I'll make sure to look over their case, just make sure the files are shipped by Wednesday…"

He was half listening to the conversation, catching a sentence here or there as they neared a secluded and hilly area of the island. They came up to a large metal fence and the car slowly stopped.

"Listen, Sora, we're going to be having some guests tonight for dinner."

The brunet groaned. "And when were you planning on telling me?"

"It was last minute Sora. Your father can't make it home tonight since he is scheduled to do surgeries, so I need you to be on your best behavior. Tiana and her mom should be coming in to help with the cooking."

Tiana's family ran a small catering service and her mother acted as a private chef when not working events. Over the years they had done all sorts of gatherings for his mother's law office, which was how Sora first came to meet Tiana when they were 5 years old. Despite the sudden announcement for dinner, Sora couldn't help but chuckle to himself knowing that Tiana would more than likely be ticked off thinking she'd gotten out of work for the day only to be hitched back into it. Well, at least he'd have someone to talk to if things got boring around the dinner table.

"Who's coming tonight?" Sora asked as they pulled through the immense black gates.

"A new faculty member," she replied turning down an elongated street towards a massive two story house.

Sora felt his heart quicken for a second. "New faculty?"

"Yes, a new teacher at your school."

The sudden image of the blonde man on the track field came to mind. It would seem that Sora wouldn't have to wait until history class to meet this new teacher. His parents were part of the school board, and while they didn't make many appearances because of their busy schedules, their donations more than qualified them to keep their spots. Perhaps inviting the new teacher for dinner was a way to appease to those that questioned their commitment to the board. Sora seemed amused. Dinner was sounding rather enticing, more so the fact that he'd use this event to rub it in Aqua's face. He really could care less about the new teacher, but it didn't stop him from holding something over the blue haired girl.

By the time 7 pm came rolling around, the rarely used grand dinner table was set with an obscene amount of plates and glasses. Sora had spent most of the time in the kitchen chatting with Tiana as she prepared a salad and helped her mother with a stew. There was of course, no word from his father since he'd be up to his elbows in scalpels and bodily fluids.

"How many days has it been since you've seen him?"

"I dunno, a week?" Sora replied, "He'll be heading to the capital in 2 days for another surgery."

"Don't you miss him?"

Sora looked at his long time friend, cocking an eyebrow. "Why are you even asking Tiana? You should know all of this by now. Dad is always away."

"I know," she said throwing the stems of celery away, "but it doesn't mean you're not lonely."

Sora scoffed, "Yeah…well, not like he'd make things any better. Mom's always annoyed with me about something and he just sits and doesn't say anything."

Being a neurosurgeon was a stressful job and one that forced his father Zack to be away from home on a repeated basis. The few times he managed to see him, Zack would be lying on the couch or going over paperwork, but never really paying Sora any kind of attention. He had gotten used to it over the years, pretty much having an absentee father that didn't really stick up for him whenever Helga decided to yell at him for whatever reason. It was like he left it up to his mother to take care of the decisions. His parents were so opposite sometimes Sora wondered how the hell they came together in the first place.

"Sora, they're here."

He could hear Helga's voice ringing from the second story. Sora turned to Tiana and half smiled as he left the sanctity of the delicious smelling kitchen and walked towards the door to welcome in their guest. Helga was barreling down the stairs, adjusting the top to a silky red dress and motioning for Sora to open the door. He did as he was asked and took a hold of the handle and pushed it back. Handsome was an understatement. The man was hot. Sora was practically drooling before Helga moved in beside him to welcome the blonde man in.

"Welcome. My name is Helga Sinclair-Fair, how do you do?"

"Seifer Almasy, thank you for the kind invitation."

Sora simply stood by, eyeing the new teacher. Bright blue eyes, slicked back blonde hair, broad shoulders hiding underneath an ill fitting suit, and a peculiar scar laying over his nose. The blemish did little to detract from his handsome features, if anything, it just made him appear more interesting. He glanced over at Sora, forcing his breath to hitch in his throat. Helga coughed silently.

"And may I introduce my son, Sora Sinclair-Fair? Please say hello Sora."

"Uh, hello…nice to meet you," the sixteen year old said extending a shaky hand.

Seifer smiled warmly at him. "Nice to meet you." He then took a step aside, another figure walking up behind him and illuminated by the light emitted by the house. Sora watched as Seifer laid a hand at the woman's waist.

"This is my wife, Mulan."

Well shit. Suddenly the fun was snuffed out. The woman sported black hair and porcelain white skin. Her features spoke of a foreign country, more than likely the Land of Dragons off in the eastern continent of the world. Helga without a second thought clasped both hands around Mulan's as she welcomed both husband and wife into her home. Sora was left with a less than happy look on his face as they came in.

"Well, so much for that," he thought.

They all settled around the dinner table, the adults making small talk as they poked at the salad that was prepared for them. Sora had his elbow on the table supporting his jaw as he looked at the opposing wall. His attention span was limited, he was after all, still a teenager.

"And what subject will you be teaching?" he could hear his mother asking.

"You're probably aware of Mrs. Lulu leaving on maternity leave, yes? Well, I'll be filling in for her history class for the rest of the year."

That much he and Aqua had concluded. Sora stabbed half of a cherry tomato with his fork and popped it in his mouth.

"Sora?"

He looked up, Helga's eyes settling on him. "I expect you to do well in Mr. Almasy's class."

He was so tempted to roll his eyes at her, but the last thing he needed was a public harassment in front of these people. Sora simply nodded, managing to catch the gaze of the older man. It was very subtle, and the brunet almost missed it, but there was a quick wink on the part of his new teacher. Sora felt his chest tighten up.

"Yes mom, I will."

When dessert was served the adults had already plowed through 3 bottles of wine. They were all laughing, but Sora found little amusement in whatever it was they were talking about. He let out a tired sigh and excused himself from the table, although he was certain his mother hadn't noticed his words. He crept back into the kitchen to see Tiana eating her dinner and her mother Eudora finishing with some cleaning. Sora slumped down on a chair near the counter, letting his head rest against his huddled arms.

"Sounds like they're having fun out there."

Sora made no effort to respond. Tiana wiped away at her lips before pushing her plate aside. The brunet could hear some clinking before he felt something nudging against his arm.

"Here, it'll make you feel better."

Sora sat back up to see a piece of chocolate cake sitting in font of him. Tiana was grinning.

"Made it myself too."

It had managed to bring a smile to his face and Sora wasn't about to turn down a dessert made by the dark skinned girl.

"You guys served éclairs with whipped cream out there."

"Yeah," Tiana began, "but something told me I'd be needing to bring this along."

"You're the best Tiana."

"I know," she replied, "not your best friend for nothing."

**-XXXXX-**

Aqua was seething. She had her arms crossed and mouth set in a pout. Sora and Tiana were sitting opposite of her, giggling.

"Not funny you guys."

"I beg to differ," Sora interjected.

"You should have called me and told me he'd be at your house."

Sora, clad in his school uniform stuck his tongue out at her. "What? Like it would have mattered?"

They were sitting out in one of the school courtyards awaiting the first bell to their morning classes. It should come as no surprise as to why Aqua was oozing with jealousy. The lackluster dinner proved worthwhile if this was the kind of reaction Sora would be getting out of his fellow friend.

"No, not really. But you could have told me," Aqua replied loosening up on her pout. "So, what did you learn? Any details?"

Sora shrugged. "Not really, mom was talking with them all night I didn't bother butting in."

"And you?" she directed at Tiana. "Did you catch anything?"

"Even less. I was in the kitchen most of the night."

Aqua let out a defeated sigh. "You guys suck."

There was more giggling from the two friends. The bell went off as usual and the small group disbursed. Aqua, being a year older than they were, shared no classes and went off in a different direction. Tiana had half the same classes Sora did and so would join him up until lunch time. They walked into the halls, bustling with other students as they headed towards the first period of the day. Sora and Tiana would have to make it through their first and second classes before they'd be in history. News of the addition to the faculty was not just something that pertained to their little group of friends. The whispers and assortments of chattering in the hallways proved the other students were just as curious. One would think they were being visited by royalty or something. As they turned the corner, Sora walked right into a solid body. He fell back, spilling the contents of his back pack all over the floor.

"Crap," he said, "I'm sorry."

Sora bent down to gather his scattered materials when he was met with blue eyes on par with his. He was unknowingly staring, but he couldn't look away. The blonde man took a hold of his books and offered Sora a smile.

"Not a problem, I should have been looking where I was going as well."

Sora took the books from Seifer and placed them back in his bag. "Umm, yeah, thanks."

"I need to be going," the blonde responded, "I'm sure I'll be seeing you later today."

The handsome man nodded at Tiana in passing before disappearing down a hall. She helped Sora back on his feet and clutched onto his arm.

"I can totally understand why Aqua was jealous."

Sora didn't think anything of it. "Eh, come on. We're already late for biology."

He took just one more moment to look back over his shoulder, only to shake his head at the thought before walking away with Tiana.

**~00000~**

**A/N:**

**Thank you for reading! This is still in the beginning stages, so a continuation is dependant on what you guys think. Any feedback would be great. For those unfamiliar with my writing, I'll mention a few things.**

_Any name of a person, place, term or item written in italics like this _**will indicate something from the Square-Enix universe. Many fans of the Kingdom Hearts series may not be familiar with the original Final Fantasy games and its terms, so I do this as a way for them to familiarize themselves with characters and items they would otherwise not know.**

**It's my strict and personal style with Kingdom Hearts to not use any original characters. All characters mentioned by name, exist in the Square-Enix and Disney universe.**

**Thanks again, and we'll see where this leads.**


	2. There Were No Apologies

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix, or Disney. The characters and places used belong to their respective owners and universes.

**-Perilous Behavior-**

**-Chapter 2-**

**-There Were No Apologies-**

Seifer Almasy tried to feign surprise when a sea of hands were thrust in the air after asking if there were any questions for him. He was met with the same reactions in first and second period, thus the effect was lost after the initial classes of the day. Regardless, Seifer plastered on a smile and motioned to a girl in the front row, much to the groaning dismay of the others.

"Yes…_Yuna_ was it?"

The teenager with two different colored eyes felt her cheeks redden.

"How long have you been teaching?"

The blonde leaned back against his desk, "Well, I started right after I received my masters in college, so it's been about five years now."

Yuna nodded, her question satisfied. Once again, hands were immediately hungering for his attention.

"Middle row, I'm sorry, I promise I'll figure out names soon."

"_Garnet_, Mr. Almasy," the dark haired girl said with a grin. "Can I ask how old you are?"

He let out a laugh. "Too old sometimes. Or at least that's how I feel. I'm 31."

There was an instant wave of giggling and hushed conversations amongst the girls. The guys on the other hand, were visibly bored and rolling their eyes at their fellow classmates. Sora would have joined in, had he not been keenly watching the older man. He looked over his freshly pressed dark purple shirt, which unlike the suit he had been wearing the night before at dinner, was fitted rather nicely. It was tucked into form fitting grey slacks and finished off with a pair of black leather boots that only made him appear more statuesque. Sora knew he was checking him out. That was apparent from the minute he walked through the door.

"Sora," he heard his name being whispered, "Sora!"

He broke from his trance-like stare to meet Tiana. She was hunched over to the side of her desk, hand cupped to one side of her lips as if she was trying to keep anyone else from hearing. Sora mimicked her actions and leaned in over closer to her.

"What is it?"

"Aqua sent me a text. She wants to know if you want to head into town for lunch."

He nodded and sat back against the back of his seat as Tiana responded to the invitation. Their school had an off campus policy with their lunch hour, which the students took full advantage of. And seeing as how Aqua was the only one with a car, he and Tiana wouldn't turn down the offer. All they needed to do was get through history, which wasn't proving to be much of a stimulating lesson with Seifer still taking questions from the class. Sora found it a little odd. None of the other teachers ever seemed this social, perhaps it was Seifer's youthful personality. That or he hadn't been teaching as long as the others and had yet to harbor hatred for his students.

"Alright everyone, one more question."

Once again, there was a deep groan. He looked around, the billowing hands still up in the air. Seifer tapped a finger against his chin before zeroing in on someone.

"How about you, Sora?"

For once, the room fell silent. Sora must have heard wrong. He didn't even have his hand raised. Everyone was watching him and he was growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. Why was he pointing him out? He quickly thought back to the impromptu run in with the blonde earlier in the morning. Seifer was looking at him with that same gaze, those bright blue eyes seeping through him. Sora licked his lips, shrugging in the process.

"Um, I don't have a question."

There was snickering from some of the boys in front of him who quieted the moment Seifer cleared his throat.

"That's okay, why don't we move onto today's lesson? I'll be passing out a review sheet covering what you've been learning over the last couple months with Mrs. Lulu. I want to see where everyone is at and from there I can work out a thorough lesson plan. Starting with the front row, please take a paper and pass the rest back."

When the last paper reached his hand, the person holding onto it wouldn't let go. Sora glared at teenage boy in front of him.

"Give it."

"Say please."

Sora didn't need the attitude. He forcefully pulled the paper away from 17 year old Riku, his least favorite person in the entire campus. The silver haired teenager also hailed from a very wealthy family, and like his own parents, they were part of the school board. There wasn't a real case of hostility amongst the adults, but between Sora and Riku it was altogether a different story.

Riku should have been a year ahead of him, joining Aqua in the junior class, but with a late December birthday Riku didn't make the cutoff back in beginnings of elementary school and thus was placed with the younger students. It was partially due to being older than his peers that he always held a smug and arrogant attitude. Sora unfortunately knew Riku just as long as he had Tiana, which meant he had been on the receiving end of Riku's taunts for years. Tiana stuck up for Sora and in doing so would only rile up Riku and his group of friends even further. Sora learned to ignore him as best as he could, but there was only so much he could take at any one given time. It was truly a childish situation.

"You may join up with a friend for the remainder of the period and work together. Don't worry if it's not done, this is more of an exercise."

Desks were shuffled around as the class filled with conversation and the sounds of scribbling pencils. Tiana turned her desk towards Sora and began writing away.

"Leave it alone Sora, you know how he is."

"I know," he replied with disdain, "but he's been more in my face lately."

"Which is more reason to ignore him."

The other part to Riku's arrogance was a very clear fact. He was wealthy and liked to put it on display. Sora had lost count on how many times he'd been reprimanded by the staff for wearing something that went against the dress code. Riku would walk into class with a designer jacket, shoes, jeans, whatever he had decided on that day. But the warnings never went anywhere. A little talk with his parents and the marks against him went away. Such was the workings of having parents on the school board. The only thing that brought Sora a sense of satisfaction was that it made Riku quite unpopular with the student body. It just didn't seem fair that everyone else had to comply with the regulations while Riku could get away with whatever he pleased.

When the bell rang signaling the end of class, the desks were placed back in their original order and papers were passed forward onto Seifer's desk.

"Thank you for an enjoyable first day everyone. I look forward in getting to know all of you. So, until tomorrow."

The class filed out, eager for the lunch hour. Tiana opened a compact mirror to check her hair as Sora finished gathering his things. Riku seemed bored with Sora's lack of retaliation and left with his friends without another word. She turned to Sora.

"You ready? Aqua should be waiting."

"Yeah, gimme a sec. I need to make sure I brought-oh shit."

The ebony skinned girl furrowed her brow. "What's wrong?"

"I don't have my gym clothes."

"Don't you have a spare change in your locker?"

Sora shook his head. "No, I took both home to get them washed. I completely forgot about it because of dinner last night and left it in the laundry room."

"It should be okay, we can have Aqua run us by your house during lunch," she suggested. "We can grab something to eat on the way back."

"Good idea," he said, "let's go, she'll be pissy if we make her wait any longer."

They had taken a step out into the hallway when Sora's name rang out.

"Sora? A quick moment?"

He looked over at Tiana, his best friend mouthing "don't be long" before continuing on without him. Sora immediately wracked his brain for things he could have done wrong within the span of the last hour, but nothing was coming to mind. The older man towered over him as it was, the boots only helped in making him feel smaller. Sora swallowed hard.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry if it felt like I was picking on you back there," the handsome man said clasping his hands together. "It wasn't my intention. I thought considering we had dinner last night, I could be a little more forward with you."

Sora blinked a few times. "Oh…yeah, it's okay. I deal with a bunch of stupid stuff from classmates, so I didn't take it the wrong way."

Seifer grinned, "I'm glad. I really appreciated you opening your home to my wife and I. We don't know anybody here so it was very welcoming."

"Uh, well, you should thank my mom. I really didn't do anything."

The older man chuckled. "Well, meeting you was pleasant. I hope I can count on you in the class from time to time."

Sora was hoping his cheeks weren't showing the signs of the coming embarrassment, but he acknowledged the man's words with a shake of his head.

"Well, I won't keep you. I'll see you for class tomorrow Sora."

"Right Mr. Almasy, thanks."

Not wasting a second, Sora quickly left the classroom and trekked through the now empty halls towards the school parking lot. The moment he came up to Aqua's car he was met with an ominous stare.

"Spill it. Now."

Aqua was a whore for gossip. But Sora wouldn't be good friends with her if he thought he couldn't trust her. If there was one thing that kept her from being like the other vile gossip queens it was her fierce loyalty. Just because she enjoyed hearing whatever details were floating around campus didn't mean she was a snitch. The two were vastly different.

"So why am I driving to your house again?" the older girl asked

"Sora forgot his gym clothes," Tiana responded.

Aqua reached over and slapped Sora on the forehead.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"The only reason you forgot is because you were too busy swooning over the hunky new teacher."

Tiana tried to stifle a laugh, much to Sora's displeasure. He rolled his eyes at them both.

"Is there like, some kind of sign flashing over my head saying 'pick on Sora day'?"

"Oh come on, I'm just giving you a hard time. Chill out."

"I got enough flack from Riku today, I don't need it from you too Aqua."

She noticed the bite in his voice and quickly changed her tune. "Is that prick on your case again?"

Aqua was all too aware of what kind of person Riku was. She was attending their private school on scholarship and Riku found great interest in bringing it up when Aqua was in his presence and mocking her with it. There wasn't anything wrong by what means allowed her to go to school, but Riku was a class-A asshole who just couldn't help himself.

"I really don't get it. He's got some of the best grades out of anyone, he has everything he could ever want, so why does he act like such a little kid?" Aqua fumed.

"You're lucky you've only been dealing with him since we got into high school. Tiana and I have had to deal with it since kindergarten."

Tiana heaved a sigh. "Okay, let's stop with the negativity. Let's just go to Sora's, and get some food. I'm hungry."

Everyone could agree on that. They made it past the metal gates surrounding Sora's block, a ritzier part of the island, and drove down a street until his house came into view. As they approached, he noticed another car parked around the circular driveway.

"That's your-"

"Yeah, that's my dad's car," Sora finished for Aqua "He's home for once. He's probably sleeping until he goes to work again tonight. Then he's off to the capital."

The girls were not oblivious to the sudden change in his demeanor. They were lucky enough to have both their parents' undivided love and attention on a regular basis. No matter how busy their own lives and families were, Tiana and Aqua knew they could count on their own for anything. Like Riku, Sora had wealth. But unlike Riku he didn't flaunt it, nor did it bring him happiness. And despite their friendships with Sora, they knew they could only do so much. Sora was still lonely.

"You guys wait out here, I'll take just a sec."

He slipped out of the car and walked through the front door. Sora made his way to the laundry room and in his trek, found his father sitting on a chair, sprawled over the surface of the dinner table. Zack was fast asleep, his clothes disheveled and the contents of his briefcase askew around his feet. Sora sighed inwardly, eyeing the floor. He found his clothes folded on top of the dryer and quickly picked them up into his arms before heading back out. Sora got into the passenger seat and motioned for Aqua that he was ready.

The drive back was rather quiet. They stopped at a local diner and grabbed a couple orders of chili fries which they managed to finish on their way back to campus. There were a few minutes left before the lunch bell would ring, so the three friends sat back and relaxed in Aqua's car for the remainder of their free hour. Tiana and Sora's classes differed in the later half of the day, so this would be their parting point until the afternoon.

"So, you guys hear about Cinderella's birthday party this Saturday?" Aqua asked sitting back up.

"You mean the one none of us is invited to?" Tiana added playing around on her phone.

Aqua turned around and was about to say something in response to Tiana when something else caught her attention. She was looking past the dark haired girl, her brow raised. Sora and Tiana followed her actions, wondering what was so interesting it had rendered Aqua silent. Sora was not surprised when he saw Seifer walking through the parking lot hand in hand with his wife Mulan. He had, after all, met her the night before.

"Is that-"

"Looks like it." Tiana nodded

"That's his wife Mulan," Sora finished for the two.

It would seem the little detail about him being married was not mentioned to the blue haired girl. Not like it really mattered, or so that was what Tiana and Sora thought. The happy looking husband and wife however, were not alone. They watched as they let go of each other's hand and a little girl came running up between the two of them. It didn't take a genius to figure out who the adorable child was.

"Huh, a wife _and _daughter," Aqua stated with a chuckle, "Well, looks like all the girls' hopeful dreams are crushed."

"Yeah…" Sora drew out slowly, "guess so…"

**-XXXXX-**

Over the course of a month, the exciting factor in having an attractive new teacher lost its appeal. No longer were the girls giggling like hyenas on crack during history class and students in general were beginning to find Seifer's methods of teaching far more difficult and demanding than anything Mrs. Lulu had them do. Granted, at least he was still nice to look at.

Sora found himself in a familiar predicament. He was laying out on the grassy fields, shirt slightly unbuttoned and the Friday afternoon sun caressing his face. Ringing any bells yet? Helga was late in picking Sora up from school yet again. This time around Tiana wasn't able to hang out with him as she had to work and Aqua had to leave the minute classes let out for the weekend to make a long ferry trip with her family to see relatives. Sora sighed. His own weekend was looking so exciting.

"_Emergency meeting with a client. Call a cab, won't be home till late."_

"God damn it," he seethed tossing the phone over his head, landing with a thump on the grass. "This is bullshit."

There was no apology, nothing telling him his mother was being considerate of him. Sora groaned, he didn't want to put any effort in getting up. He wanted to just lie there and silently complain to whatever was up there. He closed his eyes, a shadow falling over him the minute he did.

"I thought you had to work Tiana."

"Do all kids stay late on a Friday afternoon?"

The voice caught him off guard, immediately forcing him to sit up and clasp an arm against his exposed chest. Seifer was standing over him, tie loosened around his neck and hair normally slicked back a little messy. Sora didn't waste any time in buttoning his shirt back up and getting to his feet. It felt like he had been caught doing something wrong. The blonde man shook a hand at him, motioning for him to stop.

"Sorry, I must have come out of nowhere. You don't need to go."

Sora was holding onto a strap of his back pack. "Oh…well, maybe I should. It's getting late."

"Are you getting picked up?"

He was forced to stifle a scoff. "I was supposed to. My mom's a busy person. I kind of get stood up."

Seifer pursed his lips. "Does it happen often?"

If only he knew. Sora nodded. "I'm used to it."

"I can give you a ride home if you'd like."

"That's okay," Sora quickly threw out, "I'll take a cab."

"I insist Sora, let me give you a lift. I'm sure being stuck here at school isn't what you'd like to be doing with your Friday afternoon."

He was debating if he really should accept. Knowing his mother she'd find a reason to yell at him for not doing as he was told to do. Then again, it's not like she'd be home to see him getting dropped off. It didn't really require a lot of thought.

"Okay…"

"Alright, it's a plan."

Sora followed after the statuesque man, falling a couple steps behind. He was beginning to regret not paying better attention to the dinner a month prior and the questions session Seifer had on his first day at the school. There was still a lot about him he didn't know. He had a beautiful wife, and a little three year old girl named _Marlene. _The latter he found out when Mulan brought him his lunch on a day he had forgotten and introduced his family to the class. This time around the swooning that followed was over how adorable the little girl was. But other than that, he didn't know much else. Sora didn't have any qualms about him, Seifer was a nice guy.

"You can put your things in the backseat," Seifer offered as they got into his car, a little blue sedan. "Would it be too much trouble for you if I make a couple stops on the way? I need to pick up a few things for the house."

"No, it's no problem. I really don't have anything important to do."

The handsome blonde smiled at him. "Okay."

They drove in relative silence, first making a stop at the local post office followed by a grocery store he frequented with the girls whenever Aqua was craving chocolate. It was usually during "that time of the month" and Sora had learned quickly that if Aqua didn't have her sweets, things got ugly. He and Tiana usually tried to avoid her during that week, "tried" being the key word.

"Marlene is lactose intolerant and goes through soymilk like crazy," Seifer told Sora as he placed a few bags in the backseat. "Always have to have it stocked otherwise she's a cranky girl."

Sora let out a soft chuckle. "She's really cute."

"But a handful," Seifer added. "don't let that innocent face fool you."

It would be Seifer's second time coming to his home, but there was no need in telling him what direction to go. The island wasn't large by any means, so even people new to the area didn't take long in getting to know their way around. Before long the blonde was circling around into his driveway. Sora reached a hand into the backseat to get his things and flung the passenger door open.

"Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime," Seifer replied with a subtle wink. "I'll see you Monday morning. Don't forget to study for the test."

"I will, thanks again."

Sora hung his bag over his shoulder and gently closed the car door, the history teacher waving a hand at him as he turned out of the driveway and onto the street. He heaved a sigh, opening the front door and meeting the cavernous ballroom-like foyer. The floors were sparkling clean, flowers in their vases perfectly arranged and pruned, and hints of lemon scenting the air. The cleaning lady must have finished with the house right before he arrived. He took the stairs two at a time and walked to the very end of the second story and into his bedroom. The walls were painted a deep blue, borders accented with crisp white moldings, and a large set of windows showing the meticulously kept backyard. They had a pool, which was rarely used considering they lived next to the seas and it was easier to just head on down to one of the many beaches. Although, it did look nice all lit up at night whenever his parents were hosting some kind of get together with their friends or coworkers. Sora threw his bag onto his queen size bed and face planted directly onto a pillow, wishing he could drown in it.

Things were too quiet. Well, silence was preferred over his mother's yelling. But being on his own in such a huge house with nothing in the background was deafening. This was yet another aspect of his life. Sora grabbed the remote to the flat screen hanging on the wall and turned it on, immediately bathing the room with the hard beating of electronic music. Sora heaved another heavy sigh. It was now early evening on a Friday and he had nothing to do. He was sure someone from school was having some kind of party, not that he'd be able to go, but he knew of them. Letting out a muffled groan, he opened his bag and took out a notebook.

"Guess I'll study for that test…"

It only took him 15 minutes before he told the world to fuck itself and tossed his books aside. He was at his computer, browsing through the internet and texting back and forth with the girls. Aqua was already having a miserable time at her relatives and Tiana was still working an event. Sora was aimlessly clicking around when he accidentally hit the bookmark pages on his browser. He looked at the list, smiling to himself.

"How long has it been since I've been on here?"

He had come across a gay teen chat site he frequented a few years back. Sora had always known he was a little different. No matter who he looked at, his eyes would find themselves ultimately fixated on another boy. Middle school would land him his first date with a boy, his first kiss, and the last time he'd be caught sharing a bed by his mother. The fact that she didn't disown him on the spot meant on some level she already knew about his orientation. Mothers liked to feel as if they had intuition in regards to these kinds of things. Still, he was doing something inappropriate under her roof and he wasn't going to get out of it. Oh he never heard the end of that one.

The site was a way for him to get in touch with others his age going through similar experiences. Well, at least that was the message the site was striving to provide. In reality it was nothing more than gratified virtual raunchiness. Teenage boys asking one another what they were into, what hot celebrities they liked, and asking for pictures in such provocative poses one had to wonder where on earth they learned such things from. Sora dabbled in some of these practices, usually just to keep the conversation going. But being 14 at the time he lost interest quickly. Once you saw one hot guy, you've seen them all.

"Wonder if my login still exists…."

Perhaps it was sheer boredom leading him on. He typed in his username, such a creative and intellectual one at that.

"bluEyed14..." he mumbled, laughing inwardly at his explosive creativity.

It took him a couple tries in remembering his password, but eventually he was on his profile page and scrunching his face in disgust at the picture he had uploaded. He quickly deleted it, not sure if he'd even bother to put an updated one up. Sora wasn't sure what he was doing, he was aimlessly looking at some of the profiles, checking to see if there were any local guys online. He lived on a small island, so the number of guys his age were rather limited. There had to be more, but considering everyone pretty much knew one another, they didn't want to risk being found out. Such were the issues in having a small community.

Sora spent a while simply browsing, seeing if any of the other usernames looked familiar. He recognized a few, but for the most part there had been an influx of new profiles since he last logged in. Nothing unusual about that. Sora wanted to avoid the chat rooms, but considering he had no picture and the guys on here were all about looks, he didn't think he'd be bothered by too many people. He clicked on one of several links and a separate screen instantly popped up. Sora eyed the list on the left hand side, the numbering fluctuating between 300 and 400 users from all over. Yep, it was Friday night after all.

Within a few minutes, he had gotten well over 10 private messages. So much for not being bothered by too many people. He immediately hit the ignore button the moment someone asked him for pictures and the more blunt "how hung are you?" question. Sora rolled his eyes, not surprised by the caliber of comments the guys were sending his way. He knew what he was getting into, there was no point in getting annoyed. His grumbling stomach forced him away from the computer for a little while as he roamed the refrigerator downstairs for something to eat. Sora grabbed a few slices of leftover turkey meat from dinner last night and made himself a sandwich before treading back up to his room. As he sat down, sandwich wedged in his mouth, he noticed a blinking message on his screen.

"_Hyperion_?"

He didn't recognize the username. Sora placed his food aside and clicked the window open. The profile bore no picture.

"_**Hyperion**__ said: You as bored as me?"_

Sora clacked a few keystrokes.

"_**bluEyed14 **__said: Yep. Quiet night."_

"_**Hyperion **__said: Smart choice having no picture. Weeds out the ones just wanting to check you out."_

"_**bluEyed14**__ said: Hasn't stopped them from messaging me."_

"_**Hyperion**__ said: True. Some just don't know any better."_

Sora's lips pulled into a small grin.

"_**bluEyed14 **__said: So what are you doing on here?"_

"_**Hyperion**__ said: Fooling around, don't have anything better to do._

"_**bluEyed14**__ said: lol I know the feeling. Are you from the islands?"_

"_**Hyperion **__said: Yeah, live near the southern cluster."_

"_**bluEyed14**__ said: Cool, I do too."_

"_**Hyperion**__ said: Nice, you in high school?"_

"_**bluEyed14**__ said: Yeah, sophomore."_

"_**Hyperion**__ said: Aren't you kinda young to be a sophomore?"_

"_**bluEyed14**__ said: Haha, I'm 16. Haven't logged on here in two years."_

"_**Hyperion **__said: Gotcha. Can get kinda boring after a while."_

"_**bluEyed14**__ said: Exactly."_

"SORA!"

The brunet looked away when he heard his name ringing from downstairs. He groaned, mother was home.

"_**bluEyed14 **__said: I gotta go. Thanks for the chat."_

"_**Hyperion **__said: No prob, let's do it again soon."_

"_**bluEyed14**__ said: Yeah, maybe later this weekend. Later."_

"_**Hyperion **__said : Later."_

Sora closed the chat room window and logged off, flicked the switch on his monitor, turned down the music from the flat screen , and sprawled back out over his bed. He could hear the clicking of his mom's stilettos down the hallway, growing louder as she approached. Not bothering to knock, she threw the door open.

"You get home alright?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Helga leaned against the doorframe. "Alright, no need to get sarcastic. I just came home to get changed and wanted to check in on you."

Sora shrugged, his head resting on a pillow. "Everything's fine. Where are you going?"

"Clients from earlier today want to have a drink after going over a lot of paperwork. So, don't stay up too late and I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay."

There were still no apologies for making him wait after school. He heard the door close before grabbing a hold of the tv remote and turning his music back up. Sora stretched his limbs out, trying to cover as much space on his bed as he could and let out a long exasperated sigh.

**-XXXXX-**

The sounds of movement in the other room woke her up. She opened an eye to see the opposite side of the bed empty and the bedspread thrown to the side. The alarm clock was reading close to midnight and with a yawn, she sat up.

"Honey?"

There wasn't a response. She got to her feet and threw on a sheer robe over her shoulders before walking out of the bedroom.

"What are you doing still up?"

Seifer was sitting at a desk, a mound of papers on the glossy wooden surface and a laptop settled between the stacks. He turned to Mulan, smiling at her as she came up to him.

"Finishing up with some lesson plans for next week, did I wake you?"

Mulan placed both hands against his exposed collar bones. Seifer had the habit of walking around the house without a shirt on. Not like there was shame in doing so, he had the physique, why not show it off?

"It's okay, I'm just going to grab a quick drink of water and head back."

"Alright, I'll pop into Marlene's and check on her before I come to bed."

Mulan kissed his forehead and quietly made her way into the kitchen. Seifer watched as she went through the door before whirling around in his seat. He took a hold of his pen, slowly raising his eyes to the laptop screen. Mulan didn't take but a second and came back, wrapping an arm around her husband's neck.

"Don't be long. Love you."

"Love you too hon…"

She let go, disappearing back into their bedroom with a soft clicking of the door. The blonde man typed away at the keyboard, the screen flittering with a dozen pop up message boxes.

"_**Hyperion **__said: You as bored as me?"_

**~00000~**


	3. There Were Shades of Purple and Orange

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square-Enix, or Disney. The characters and places used belong to their respective owners and universes.

**A/N: I apologize for the wait, work has kept me very busy. Thank you to all that still follow and for your patience. Decided to change the rating, just to be safe.**

**-Perilous Behavior-**

**-Chapter 3-**

**-There Were Shades of Purple and Orange-**

Sora normally could care less for gym class. He was by no means unfit, but it was the one period of the day where his effort wasn't being calculated by how much he studied or how much he knew, it didn't require much intellect. But on days where his teacher was in a rather good mood they'd be allowed to have class at the beach. In these instances he cared a little more.

They had walked the short distance to one of the many beaches around the island, just a five minute or so walk from campus. Sora adjusted the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, pushing them back slightly. His classmates were already setting up a volleyball net, some taking sprints through the warm sands, and others running headfirst into the crisp clear waters. Sora opted for something else. He continued walking along the beach, the sands elevating until he was treading up a small grassy hill. Sora stopped at the top overlooking the beach below. With a soft thud, he sat back admiring the scenery. He had lived his entire life in Destiny Islands, the sight of blue skies and a warm sun would never get old. Sora peered over the rim of his sunglasses, lips pulling into a smile as he read over a message he had just received.

"_How's it going?"_

He had not been able to get a name out of the person he had met on the gay teen chatroom a few weeks earlier, but Sora was perfectly content in referring to him by his screen name. Hyperion, as the mysterious high school student on the other end would later point out during one of their many conversations, was the name of a very special gunblade belonging to a soldier from a long ago war when Destiny Islands was broken up into thousands of kingdoms. Sora would roll his eyes at himself, realizing how utterly stupid he was for not remembering such a crucial element to his own country's history.

"_Not bad, gym teacher let us have class at the beach."_

They were exchanging email messages repeatedly following the initial greeting. If there was one thing Sora had learned from years prior was that giving your phone number to someone online wasn't always the smartest thing to do, so exchanging email messages was an easy and acceptable option that Hyperion had no issues with. Sora had learned that Hyperion was from the southern cluster of islands and specified living on an island a good two or so hours by ferry and even further south than Sora was. The brunet had never ventured that far south, as it was an island close to an imaginary border across the oceans separating Destiny Islands from the waters of their neighbors, the citizens of Twilight Town.

"_Lucky, I'm in calculus. Would rather be where you are instead."_

They were all pixilated words staring back at him, but Sora continued to grow even more intrigued by the 17 year old senior. He was also from a well to do family, had his own share of struggles with his overbearing parents, something which didn't take a genius to realize how much it was in sync with Sora's own life. It had gotten to a point over those few following weeks that the brunet was spending less time with Tiana and Aqua in favor of chatting with his internet friend.

"_I'm sure you would."_

The girls didn't seem to mind, in fact, they were actually pleased to see Sora in a better mood. Aqua, being who she is, could easily tell that Sora had been talking with a boy and tried her hardest to pry any information she could from her friend. But he remained tight lipped, only giving her vague clues. She threatened with mock physical violence if he didn't spill, but that would turn into a bout of laughter between the friends.

"_Just wanted to say hi, gotta go before I get caught. Talk later?"_

Sora could hear the yelling of his fellow classmates, apparently someone had performed an amazing serve during their volleyball match.

"_Yep, we'll chat later."_

Gym went by without a hitch, the remainder of his time spent admiring the ocean atop his little hill spot. Back on campus Sora was changed back into his school uniform and heading to his next class. As he treaded through the halls, off in the distance he could see the passing wave of silver hair and a string of internal groans murmured. Sora attempted to make a turn around the corner when Riku stepped in front of him, his friends a few footsteps behind. It would seem that the day couldn't go by without his most beloved person in the world making an appearance. Sora let out a sigh.

"What do you want now?" he asked, anticipating one of Riku's old and worn out insults.

Much to his surprise, Riku didn't smirk nor did he do what was so usual of the older teen. Instead, he held out an envelope. Sora eyed it suspiciously.

"What is it?"

"What does it look like?"

"Ha, funny Riku."

The silver haired teen insisted on handing it over. "It's for your parents, not you."

Sora raised a brow. "My parents? What do you want with them?"

"It's from my parents to yours, just take the damn envelope."

Sora reluctantly took it. "Couldn't you have given it to me during history?"

"Sorry," Riku sarcastically replied, "I forgot."

The warning bell rang at that moment, providing Sora with an opportunity to walk away before Riku decided to start further in.

"Fine, thanks." He finished abruptly and headed off to 5th period. Now, Sora was curious as to what the envelope held. What could Riku's parents want with his? They saw one another twice a month for school board meetings, they shared similar social circles, it seemed odd for Riku to be delivering a message when the adults were more than capable of communicating themselves. Perhaps he was just thinking about it too much.

"Looks like you got one too."

Sora looked over his shoulder, gaze falling on Seifer's tall figure. He looked at his hand, an identical envelope resting in his grip.

"Did Riku give you that?"

The blonde nodded, "Yeah, after class this morning. Looks like it's an invitation for a fundraiser Riku's parents are hosting this upcoming Friday."

The mystery was solved. "It's for my parents, guess I'm just the delivery boy."

"Ah, so you won't be there?"

Sora would rather step into barreling traffic. "No, it's always just adults there. I hate going to them."

The tardy bell rang, officially making Sora late. Seifer shook a hand at him. "I'll write you a pass, don't worry. Listen, this is sudden, but can I ask you something?"

"Sure," the sophomore replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Mulan and I need someone to watch Marlene while we go to the fundraiser. Would you be willing to watch her? I can pay you if you'd like."

Sora stood there for a second. He didn't really need the money. "Well, I haven't really watched kids before. I don't know if I'd be any good."

"That's alright, I'm sure Marlene would love you. And if she gets fussy you can always call us at any time during the night and we'll come home."

He scratched the back of his head, "Well, I guess I can. I'll mention it to my mom tonight and let you know tomorrow. Will that be okay?"

"Perfect, thank you Sora."

Seifer wrote a quick note for Sora to present to his teacher excusing his tardiness. The blonde man held it out to him, hanging between two long fingers. Sora took it, his skin touching with the older man's. For a quick moment, they looked directly at one another.

"I better get going," Sora quietly droned out.

"Right, of course."

Seifer waved goodbye, disappearing down a hall. The note rustled in Sora's hand as he went off to his next class.

**-XXXXX-**

Sora wasn't sure what he was getting into when he agreed to watch Marlene for Seifer as he and Mulan attended the fundraiser being held by Riku's parents that Friday. It was his first time dealing with not only a child, but a three-year old at that. She spent the better part of the first hour hiding behind her bedroom door, unsure of what to think of the sophomore year student. It wasn't until she got thirsty that she ventured into the living room where Sora was aimlessly watching the television.

"Can I have some soymilk?"

At least she was polite and her words surprisingly clear and eloquent for a girl her age. He poured a glass of her favorite beverage and sat with her in the kitchen. Sora stood hunched over his seat, chin resting on the back of his chair.

"When will my daddy and mommy be back?" she asked wiping at her mouth with her hand.

Sora smiled at her. "They'll be home late, after you go to bed."

Marlene looked down at her lap. "Mommy reads me a story every night."

"I can do that for you."

The young girl seemed to brighten up at his words. "Really?"

"Yeah, do you want to pick out your favorite book and set it aside for me?"

She shook her head furiously, emptied the remaining soymilk in her glass and scampered back into her room. Sora took the glass from the table and set it in the sink. He could hear her footsteps thundering towards him.

"This one!"

Marlene was holding it out as far as she could reach, the thin book gripped tightly in her hands. Sora took it from her, looking over the cover.

"Hey," he began, "this was my favorite when I was a little kid…"

Sora spent a moment thinking back, his eyes scanning the colorful pages of the book read to him a million times over. Granted, it was never read to him by his own mother but a multitude of nannies that came and went through the Sinclair-Fair household. Still, it didn't deter from the fact that he loved it as a kid and it brought him a sense of warmth to see it once again. Sora looked down at the little girl, her face lighting up with a smile.

"Let's read it now, is that okay?"

He placed a blanket around the slumbering girl, fast asleep and settled in her pink princess bed. They had been playing well past her bedtime and the exhaustion was visibly showing. Marlene could barely keep her eyes open as she struggled to finish with a picture in her coloring book. Sora followed by promptly picking her into his arms and carried her into her room. Marlene never let out a fuss.

"How's it going?"

Sora had his phone up to his ear, Tiana on the other line as he picked up Marlene's toys with one hand.

"Not bad actually, I thought she would have been bratty, but she didn't give me any trouble. She's sleeping now."

"What time are they supposed to be coming home?"

"He said around eleven, maybe midnight."

"Feel like coming over after you're done? Maybe spend the night?"

He plopped back down on the couch. "Only if you pick me up. Mom dropped me off at Mr. Almasy's. I could call her and ask."

"Do you think she'll pick up if she's at that fundraiser?"

"I'll leave her a message."

"Alright, so give me a call when you're all done and I'll come pick you up in my mom's car."

"Sounds good."

He flicked the off button and let the phone slide out of his hand. It was still another good two hours before he'd be hearing footsteps at the front door and with Marlene sleeping, Sora was left with free time and not a lot of options to fill it. He let out a sigh and got to his feet. The brunet wandered around what was now feeling like a very small house. Granted, when compared to his own, and this wasn't him gloating in a negative way, Seifer's house was more of a shack. He eyed the portraits on the wall, the decorative vases and artwork reeking highly of the Land of Dragons which came as no surprise considering Mulan's heritage.

"Huh, looks like their wedding."

Sora took a hold of the framed picture, a younger looking Seifer dressed in a white suit and Mulan in a beautiful cream colored lace dress. Seeing the picture, and not just the wedding photographs, already showed a huge difference between his family and Seifer's. While his home was lined with designer furniture, fixtures, and detailing, not a single portrait lined their halls. Seifer's home may be small when compared to his, but it completely overshadowed his in a sense of familiar warmth. Expensive items could not recreate that.

An hour had gone by when he heard Marlene crying out from her room. He immediately walked in to find the blanket thrown aside and the three year old girl curled up with her skin prickled by the cold. Sora followed by placing the blanket over her, this time tucking it slightly around her in an effort to keep it from falling a second time. He sat there for a few minutes, no longer hearing bouts of fussing as Marlene calmed down. Funny how a stray blanket could cause such discomfort.

Sora grabbed a Coke from the fridge and walked down one of the halls, his little journey leading to a den like area with a desk and huge stacks of books and papers covering every inch of the glossy wooden surface. He glanced over the nearest stack to him, finding the familiar writing of a fellow classmate and ultimately deduced it was the homework they had turned in earlier in the week. And by the looks of it, it seemed that Garnet managed a 90 on it.

"I wonder if mine's in here…" he trailed off.

He was bored, and at this point rifling through a few papers wasn't going to hurt him. Sora perused through the stack and came across Tiana's, a perfect 100 along with his, a still perfectly acceptable 94. He caught Riku's name sticking out on the very bottom and in a lazy attempt to not bother removing the top papers, tugged on it. In turn, the homework went flying everywhere.

"Shit," he muttered.

The brunet cursed his own luck and began grabbing at papers here and there, forming them back up and hoping that Seifer wouldn't notice when he came home. It wasn't until the unfortunate pillar of homework accident that he noticed a laptop hiding beneath the mounds. It was closed, but the light was still on, meaning it could very well be simply hibernating. He eyed his phone, another hour before they'd be home.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, I'm just going to check my email and stuff," he told himself.

Sora wheeled a nearby chair to the desk and he flipped the lid to the laptop. Immediately the screen flittered to life and to his delight, it was unlocked as well. There was no interesting background to speak of, just a standard blue screen. It was, however, littered with document and image file icons he wasn't about to go clicking on. He brought up the internet browser, his fingers clicking away.

Now, this was where Sora knew he was seeing things. The caffeine in his Coke was not doing the trick, he was obviously tired. He could feel his eyes widening, his heart beating that much faster.

"No fucking way."

There wasn't a rational explanation Sora could come up with as to why Seifer's browser had recognized the name of the site he had begun typing into the address bar. It had to be a mistake. Sora finished typing the address, his eyes skimming over the front page of the gay teen chat site. But it wasn't a mistake, it couldn't have been by some freak accident that Seifer had at some point come across such a site. Not when the username staring back at him, already pre-filled in bold black, pixilated letters read out so incredibly familiar.

"Hyperion…"

He could hear the distinct sound of the creaking front door and Sora felt his stomach sinking. The brunet closed the page, slammed the laptop screen down, and barreled down the hallway. He stepped back out into the living room just in time to see Seifer and Mulan walking in. It was the biggest struggle in the world to muster a smile.

"Sora, how are you doing?" Mulan asked with a cheery disposition, her hair slightly wind blown. "We decided to leave a little earlier than planned, I hope Marlene didn't give you too much trouble."

Sora eyed the towering blonde man, equally blue eyes looking back. The brunet licked the corner of his lip, focusing his attention back on the raven haired woman.

"No trouble at all. We had a great time."

Mulan took a step towards the hall, "I'm going to go check in on her, I'll be right back Sora."

The two were left alone in the living room, a sudden chill settling in, or at least that's how Sora felt it. Seifer smiled at him, the act unnerving Sora, but tried to stifle a reaction.

"Thank you so much for watching her, it really meant a lot to both of us," the blonde said removing his blazer.

"Yeah…you're welcome," he replied scratching at his neck. "Umm, since you're back I'm going to call my friend Tiana and have her pick me up."

"I can give you a ride home, don't worry."

"No!"

It came out louder than he had wanted it, but he quickly shook his hands at him. "Sorry, no, it's okay. I'm going to spend the night at her place, so she's coming to pick me up."

Seifer picked up on the sudden change in demeanor. "Alright, it's no problem for me to give you a ride, but if you insist."

"Yeah, thank you."

Mulan came walking back in. "Sound asleep. Well Sora, I don't feel right about not paying you, but you insisted on it. Is there anything we can offer you for watching Marlene?"

Sora gathered his jacket and few belongings he had brought with him. "No, thank you. I should get going so you can rest, the fundraiser must have been tiring."

"I'll walk him out," Seifer added.

Mulan warmly waved at him as Sora and Seifer walked out. There was a good eight feet or so between them, Sora's back to the older man. He stopped at the edge of the walkway, just before the street.

"Mr. Almasy, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course Sora, what is it?"

It was here that Sora turned around, his eyes stinging. "Can you tell me who did that special gunblade named Hyperion belong to?

**-XXXXX-**

A circle of glasses were raised in the direction of the handsome blonde man, a smile spread across his face.

"We wish you and Mulan all the best on your move, we'll be missing you around here."

There was a cheerful ring of agreement from the school staff members as they clinked their glasses and took a sip from their drink. Seifer was rubbing the back of his head, taken back by the gratitude and praise from his fellow and now, former coworkers.

'Thank you so much everyone, it's been a great five years. I couldn't ask for a better place to have begun my teaching career."

Some of the younger female teachers seemed to sigh as he expressed his words. Seifer glanced over at them.

"Larxene, you were there when Mulan went into labor and I was away, I can't thank you enough for what you did."

The blonde gym teacher felt her cheeks redden. "Stop it Seifer, you're making me blush here."

Again, the room filled with laughter as Seifer placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a warm squeeze. There was a series of comments and reflections made by others in the staff faculty room before a cake was wheeled in, a cheesy, but very much appreciated "We'll Miss You Seifer!" line sprawled out in thick blue icing.

"Really, everyone, you didn't have to do all this."

The last couple teachers patted Seifer on the back as they made their way out the door, leaving him with the clean up and still half of a cake left. It would seem that they weren't about to let him go without giving him one last thing to do. Seifer chuckled to himself, grabbing a black trash bag as he collected the remains of cups and bottles. Somehow the though of having a going away party seemed less fun as he finished up tidying up the room. But of course, he didn't mind.

Seifer flicked the lights off and locked up, his bag laying over his shoulder and coat underneath his arm. He balanced the cake in one hand, knowing full well that Marlene would be drooling over it once he got home. Well, what was left of his home. With their move to the southern cluster of Destiny Islands, everything was almost packed away. Marlene was of no help as she found the boxes they were using fascinating and would flip the contents out in an effort to build what she vehemently called her "Pretty Castle." Mulan was at her wits' end.

He was meaning to turn a corner and find nothing but the length of the hall, but was instead met by the presence of a tall figure leaning against an adjacent locker. It was late afternoon and the light creeping through the windows was bathing everything in gorgeous shades of purple and orange. A pair of yellow eyes fixated themselves on Seifer, glossy and showing signs of tears. The blonde man felt the intake of air in his throat stiffening for a moment.

"Saix…"

The blue haired teenager removed himself from the locker, standing up and taking a step forward.

"Seifer…please…"

"Don't Saix, not here."

Saix, dressed in khaki colored slacks and a maroon colored blazer with the school emblem over his right breast, stopped his stride. He was biting his bottom lip, flicking his tongue out every so often. Saix brought a hand to his mouth, cupping it over his lips as he felt his body begin to shake. Seifer cautiously looked around, perked his ears up to catch any other sound before walking forward.

"Come with me."

He led them through his former classroom, the blinds closed and everything appearing dark. Seifer didn't bother to turn the lights on as he shut the door behind them and promptly locked it. It was in that moment, before he even had a chance to turn around that he felt a pair of arms clutching him from behind, hands pressed harshly against his chest. Seifer felt his breath escaping him, his eyes closing.

"Saix, we talked about this."

There were muffled sobs tinting the air, heat penetrating through Seifer's back. Saix' face was buried into the material of Seifer's shirt, a wet impression left from his tears. When there wasn't a response from the blue haired teenager, Seifer slowly removed himself from Saix' grasp. He turned around, hands resting on his shoulders.

"Look at me Saix."

They were like gleaming beacons in the darkened classroom. Yellow eyes looked up, caressed with tears.

"It's over."

Saix threw himself into Seifer, the blonde recoiling and having no choice but to wrap his arms around him.

"I love you Seifer, I love you so much. I thought…I mean, I'm 18 now. I thought we could be together. We wouldn't have to worry about anybody," he let out through quiet, yet heaving cries. "You've been everything to me this past year. I can't see myself without you."

Seifer was running his fingers through the teenager's frayed blue hair, shushing incoherent words into his ear.

"It's just as difficult for me Saix, you've got to understand. But I don't have a choice. This is for the best, for both you and me. I've got a wife and daughter, you have your entire future ahead of yourself."

Saix looked up at him. "But all the things you told me, did you mean anything of it? How much you loved me too?"

Seifer placed a finger underneath his chin, his face closing in. "Of course I did. And I will never forget what we shared. I promise you."

He leaned in, their lips touching and parting slightly. Saix wrapped his arms around Seifer's neck, forcing their kiss into a state of frenzy. Saix pressed Seifer against his desk, a hand sliding down his chest and heading dangerously south. The blonde teacher sucked in a breath, throwing his head back as he felt a grip taking a hold of him. Saix slowly undid the zipper, fingers meeting a pulsing growth.

"See how I excite you? Won't you change your mind?" Saix whispered into Seifer's ear.

Seifer replied by taking a hold of Saix by the head and forcing him to his knees, the teenager more than willing. He was holding onto his hair by the fistfuls, his breath shaky and ragged as the clock overhead ticked by ever so slowly.

They were standing out in the deserted parking lot, a saddened expression still plaguing Saix. Seifer gripped his shoulder one last time, giving it a squeeze as he turned on his heel and began walking away. Saix watched him, hands clenched and eyes stinging with fresh tears. Seifer, on the other hand, was smirking.

**~00000~**


End file.
